Elsbeth Season 3 is going to be more like The Good Wife while maintaining its mostly lighthearted tone.
Yes, we lost Kaya, but Elsbeth Season 3 Episode 1 spoilers suggest that that’s a small blip in an otherwise promising and positive season.
We still have another month until the premiere, and judging from what’s been teased so far, that’s criminal.
Stephen Colbert’s Guest Appearance Is The News We All Need Right Now
As you may know, Colbert’s show on CBS was canceled, and now he’s not the only one.
But neither Colbert nor Elsbeth plans to be silent.
In fact, Elsbeth Season 3 Episode 1 spoilers suggest that the light-hearted mystery is going to take a stand against the disturbing trend of firing comedians for their political opinions, with a story about a similar TV personality.
This gutsy story stars Colbert as a talk show host who has a serious dispute with his head writer and her husband, who is also on the air.
CBS hasn’t told us whether Colbert will be the killer — that would be no fun to spoil in advance.
I’d love for him to be able to display an evil side, though. That’ll be sweet, fictional revenge for his real-life job loss.
I’m Guessing This One Won’t Be Columbo-Style
Elsbeth Season 1 focused exclusively on paying homage to Columbo, the classic Peter Falk-led mystery series, by introducing the killer and the crime at the beginning of each episode and letting Elsbeth and the cops scramble to catch up with what we already knew.
I haven’t seen the original Columbo, so I’m not sure if this inverted mystery formula was popular for its own sake back in the day or because Peter Falk could pull it off like no one else.
It got old fast on Elsbeth. While Elsbeth’s idiosyncrasies and her battle to convince Captain Wagner that she knew what she was talking about were entertaining, knowing who committed the murder took a lot of the excitement out of the show.
Elsbeth Season 2 decided to mix up the formula, sometimes opting for a Columbo-like episode and other times a more traditional mystery, and that was a great decision that it looks like Season 3 will continue with.
It’s not clear whether Colbert’s appearance will be that more traditional mystery, but I’m guessing it will, because Colbert playing a killer or victim would be big news, and the information CBS has released does not say that.
All we know is that Elsbeth is dragged into the world of backstage drama along with his character.
We don’t know who the victim is, never mind the killer, so either Elsbeth is keeping the most tightly guarded secret in the broadcast TV industry or this is not a Columbo-style “Colbert did it” story.
At Some Point, There Will Be More Good Wife Characters Coming
It doesn’t look like it’ll happen in the premiere, but let’s jump ahead with our spoilers for one second, because I am so excited that The Good Wife‘s Marisa will return this season.
Marisa will now have appeared in all three Good Wife shows, as she was a significant part of The Good Fight, and she’s one of those characters I fall in love with every time she appears.
Her return means that we probably will continue the ongoing storyline that began when Carter returned last year, involving the Chicago scandal that Elsbeth got sucked into.
Judge Crawford’s attempts to blackmail Elsbeth and otherwise intimidate her were part of that story.
I’m still mad that Elsbeth Season 2 killed him off just as his story was heating up, and I don’t think that can be fixed.
Did you start with Elsbeth or did you fall in love with her character on The Good Wife/The Good Fight?
Either way, let’s talk. Jump into the comments with your thoughts about this article and share it with your friends!
This isn’t Days of Our Lives or General Hospital, so there will be no coming back from the dead for the evil judge (we hope!)
However, perhaps there will be a better ending for his story that ties into the overarching plot of Elsbeth Season 3. That’s my hope, anyway.
We Have To Talk About Kaya (Again)
We’ve had a whole summer to accept that Kaya won’t be a regular part of Elsbeth’s Season 3, but it still hurts.
Her friendship with Elsbeth was one of the best parts of the series, and their stint as roommates on Elsbeth Season 2 was the best roommate-oriented comedy since The Odd Couple.
Kaya will be back for guest appearances, of course, but it won’t be the same.
The good news is that Elsbeth Season 3 Episode 1 spoilers promise that Elsbeth will meet a new detective.
It won’t be the same, and I don’t expect her to hit it off with this person right away.
That would be unrealistic, and anyway, all cop shows seem to have an unwritten rule that when characters leave, the ones left behind have to be possessive as hell over their desk and hate the next person who tries to sit there.
Still, a new detective is better than trying to forge a relationship with Detective Edwards, which would never work.
I Want To Know What You Think About These Elsbeth Season 3 Episode 1 Spoilers.
Whether you’re excited or you think Elsbeth has jumped the shark, I want to hear your thoughts.
Your voice matters. Without you, there would be no TV Fanatic.
Hit the comments, and don’t forget to share this article with your Elsbeth-loving friends so they can join in too!
Elsbeth Season 3 will premiere on CBS on October 12, 2025, before moving to its regular time on Thursdays at 10/9c.
